By Alissa Dedic
During college I became known by my family and friends as the person to contact to check source citations for research papers. No one understood the rules or why some of their professors wanted citations done one way while another professor wanted them done a different way. There was no right way. Frustrating, right?!
This is how I started to develop copyediting skills outside of my English classes. Many times, undergraduate students can’t have their essays and research papers professionally edited or proofread, but they can ask a friend or family member for help. I would often get an essay with a list of rules that need to be followed. The person giving them to me was overwhelmed and confused. I knew how to get the essay to follow the rules. Instead of losing points for having sources incorrectly cited or the wrong margins, my friends and family received full credit for their assignments because I taught them how to follow the instructions for formatting their bibliographies and other parts of their essays. I continued to develop these skills over the last 15 years through volunteer work and professional development.
So, you may be wondering, “What is copyediting?” Copyediting is editing a manuscript for grammar, spelling, punctuation, accuracy, consistency, and style to prepare it for publication. Many writers hire a copyeditor to help them prepare their manuscript for publication. A copyeditor, unlike a proofreader, is the person who works with editing a manuscript or document after the author has already preformed revisions. In this post we will cover the four Cs of copyediting, the resources a copyeditor uses to assist in the copyediting process, and the qualifications of a copyeditor.
What are the 4 Cs of Copyediting
The four Cs of copyediting are:
- Correctness
- Clarity
- Coherency
- Consistency
Correctness
A copyeditor will check the manuscript for correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, word usage, and following style book guidelines. This is called line or mechanical editing. Also, a copyeditor will check the manuscript for proper formatting.
Clarity
A copyeditor will make sure the manuscript is clear. The main point of writing anything is delivering a message to an audience. A copyeditor will help an author make sure the theme of the manuscript is clear. Many copyeditors choose to use tools to confirm that a passage is easy to read. Many of these tools will also let the copyeditor know the reading level of a manuscript. The copyeditor can make suggestions for revisions or highlight the passages that are unclear for the author to consider revising.
Coherency
A copyeditor can help an author know that all the parts of a manuscript are working together to support the theme. Captions for photos and graphics need to go with the text around it. Names, dates and places all need to match and be accurate throughout the manuscript. Copyeditors often help to write captions, headlines, and sub headlines to improve the coherency of a manuscript.
Consistency
Consistency is important to the flow of a manuscript. Inconsistency and inaccuracy can cause the reader to abandon the manuscript or the author to lose credibility with the audience. When the audience abandons a manuscript because it is inconsistent or inaccurate, the message the author is trying to express goes unheard.
Why is Copyediting Important?
Copyediting is important because it helps maintain the message of a manuscript and polishes the manuscript for publication. The audience’s attention needs to be held by providing information that is interesting, accurate and well-paced. The manuscript needs to be polished and groomed for its intended audience or target industry. Copyeditors do this by formatting the document according to the guidelines set by the preferred industry style book or the rules set out by the preferred industry. These guidelines are found in style books such as The AP Style Book, The Chicago Manual of Style, or The American Psychological Association Style to name a few.
What are my Qualifications?
Most copyeditors have a bachelor of arts degree in English, journalism, or communications. They have taken several writing classes that included copyediting the work of their classmates. So, before I turned in any major writing assignment for my English classes, someone from that class read my work. This was done either as a workshop or with a partner. The corrections and feedback I gave my classmates were overseen and sometimes graded by my professors.
Some copyeditors have changed careers. They have professional development certificates or coursework. I have done both. Again, during this type of class my ability to find errors and format were graded by a teacher. A qualified copyeditor will continue to pursue education to stay current on the latest language usage and style guidelines.
So, we have covered the definition of copyediting. We have explored the four Cs of copyediting, which are correct, clear, coherent and consistent writing. A copyedited manuscript has been polished and groomed for publication in its intended industry. We learned that copyeditors don’t just make up rules. Rather, they follow the guidelines in a style book. We discovered that a qualified copyeditor is more than a person who is simply good at English. A qualified copyeditor has a degree or professional development related to copyediting and writing.
Email me at elkcreekcontent@gmail.com to learn more about how copyediting can help your specific manuscript.
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